Roanne Lee thinks she’s found a way to make the region a little more awesome.

The Cintrifuse analyst is starting an Awesome Foundation chapter in Cincinnati with the help of 15 trustees who will fund one project a month. The goal of each $1,000 project, according to the international organization that started in 2009, is to help “forward the interest of awesomeness in the universe.”

“I think it’s really important for people to stop in their tracks once in a while. We’re all walking down the street, we’re all driving past something, and the repetition can get people very tired and unenthusiastic about life sometimes,” Lee said. “It’s very important – even during the week day, during your drive to work – that you have an injection of energy and surprise and creativity.”

Lee is a Georgetown University graduate who came to Cincinnati last year through the Venture for America program, an organization that recruits top college graduates and places them with startups and early-stage companies.

The program’s goal is to promote entrepreneurism among the country’s best and brightest students, expose them to cities beyond the usual suspects on the East and West coasts, and give cities like Cincinnati additional sources of entrepreneurial talent.

Lee, who grew up North Hollywood, Calif., and majored in finance and international business, is the type of talent regional civic and business leaders want to recruit. She’s been at Cintrifuse since last August. Cintrifuse is the regional initiative to help jump-start and develop high-potential startups.

Lee visited Over-the-Rhine during her Venture for America interview last year, and was able to envision herself living in the city’s urban core. Since moving to Cincinnati, she’s been struck by what she calls an accessible, welcoming environment.

“I really feel like I can e-mail anyone in the city and sit down for coffee,” she said. “I feel like they want me here. And it really is a huge asset to this community when people are encouraging before they’re critical.”

Lee’s board includes several entrepreneurs, including ChoreMonster founder and CEO Chris Bergman; local Girl Develop It organizer Erin Kidwell, who is also a senior treasury analyst at Sun Chemical; and Tim Metzner, co-founder at the startup Differential.

Metzner said he was attracted to that mix, and that The Awesome Foundation’s vision aligns with his own desire to support passionate entrepreneurs and dreamers in the region.

“It also didn’t hurt that I had already seen what Awesome was doing in other cities, and thought it was, well, awesome,” he said.

Trustees agree to contribute $100 to finance local projects, and will meet once a month with Lee to evaluate and select grant winners. Lee said there are more than 40 applications already for the first project, which the board will select in June.

Less than a year after moving here, Lee said it’s been fun to bring part of her new network together and watch relationships develop.

“(Trustees) tangentially knew each other, but now are finally working on a project together,” she said. “I could tell certain groups of people clicked, which was awesome to see.”